Nene says South Africans must stop panicking about the recession

South African Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says South Africans must not
panic over the technical recession.

The Finance Minister was speaking at the Forum on China Africa co-operation in Beijing. South Africa
officially entered a technical recession on Tuesday when Stats SA announced
that the economy has contracted by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2018.

“I don’t think people should panic. Of course, it’s okay for people to be
concerned, which is a good sign but I think it’s also going to call on all
of us to work together to lift the country out of this,” says Nene.

Nene has also indicated that Government and his department is working on a
strategic plan to lift South Africa out of recession.

“We didn’t think we would have the second contraction,
we were hoping we would have a moderate recovery.”

Nene also stated that he does not believe the current economic crash is related
to the land debate, but rather the VAT increase and constant petrol price hikes.